Artwork
Visión de San Agustín
Visión de San Agustín is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Mateo Cerezo. It dates from 1663 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1663 by the Spanish Baroque painter Mateo Cerezo, *Visión de San Agustín* is an oil on canvas that belongs to the Prado Museum’s collection. The work illustrates a moment of spiritual revelation linked to Saint Augustine, rendered in the solemn, devotional tone typical of mid‑seventeenth‑century Spanish religious painting.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a cloaked figure, his hands pressed together in prayer, gazing upward toward a celestial pair—a woman and child—who hover amid billowing clouds. The upward glance and the heavenly presence suggest a visionary experience, echoing Augustine’s own mystical encounters and underscoring themes of divine intercession and contemplation.
Technique & Style
Cerezo employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, contrasting the dark garment of the supplicant with the luminous, ethereal light surrounding the heavenly figures. This manipulation of light and shadow creates depth and dramatizes the spiritual tension, while the restrained palette and careful modeling reflect the sober aesthetic of Spanish Baroque religious art.
History & Provenance
The painting was produced during Cerezo’s mature period, after his formative years in Italy where early Baroque influences were strong. It entered the Museo del Prado’s holdings as part of the museum’s effort to assemble representative works of Spanish sacred painting, where it remains on display as an example of Cerezo’s devotional oeuvre.
Artist & collection
Artist
Mateo Cerezo, sometimes referred to as Mateo Cerezo the younger, (19 April 1637, Burgos – 29 June 1666, Madrid) was a Spanish Baroque painter, known primarily for religious works and still-lifes.
St. Francis in Prayer
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''San Bernardino da Siena prega la Madonna di Loreto''
San Agustín en oración
San Alberto de Sicilia
St. Francis in Ecstasy
St Francis
Saint Francis
Saint Benedict's Vision of the Globe and the three Angels